Pearson starts consultation with 300 employees of IT apprenticeship arm

Pearson in Practice, the controversial apprenticeship provider formerly known
as Zenos, has launched a staff consultation that could lead to a radical
overhaul of the business and the closure of some of its 30 training centres.

Pearson in Practice said it had more than 3,000 students a year studying in its IT programme and turnover of £30.7mPhoto: Alamy

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that staff were told of the business review in a series of meetings yesterday. The consultation came after legislative changes meant the company missed out on a slew of Government contracts to provide apprenticeships from August this year.

The company, part of the Pearson publishing and education group, told staff it was too early to start official consultations on job cuts but it would be “reshaping” the business in line with announcements made earlier this year.

Zenos changed its name to Pearson in Practice after being criticised for failing to place apprentices in work. Instead of running traditional schemes where apprentices are placed in work for the entirety of their apprenticeships, Zenos offered a mix of training and work placements with no guarantee of work at the end of the programme.

The practice led to an inquiry by the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee and an investigation by BBC’s Panorama.

The furore over apprenticeships coincided with allegations of widespread fraud and mismanagement at other work placement companies such as A4E.

Changes to how the Government manages spending on apprenticeships of £1bn a year means all programmes now have to be work-based from day one, ruling out Pearson in Practice from funding.

In its most recent set of accounts the company said it had more than 3,000 students a year studying in its IT programme and turnover of £30.7m.

Parent company Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, has previously said it would be looking at changes within its apprenticeship arm. However, Tuesday's move is understood to be the first concrete step the company has taken to engage with its 270 employees.

A Pearson spokesman said: “No decisions have been taken with regard to particular training facilities [and] we are not at the stage of discussing redundancies.”